of the park? >> i'm steve kornacki here in charlotte where everyone is still talking about bubba's big night. oh, yeah, and that other prime-time speech. >> who are the democrats playing to this week, their base or the middle? is there even a middle anymore? howard fineman makes his debut in "the cycle" this hour. >> every convention has a party, but what do each convention's musical choices say? >> all that, plus what i want to hear from the president tonight. it's september 6th. the grand finale of the dnc, and you're in "the cycle." good thursday afternoon to you. as all you cycle fans know, that means the intersection of presidential politics and, of

course, baseball. so as we are in the bottom of the sixth in the election cycle, the game is tight. last night the democrats sent in their premier setup man, a left-hander named clinton, and set up he did. >> i want to nominate a man who's cool on the outside. but who burns for america on the inside. >> i could have watched that speech all night. like all good setup men, he left no doubt where he stands in relation to the closer, president barack obama. >> president obama started with a much weaker economy than i did. listen to me now. no president, no president, not me, not any of my predecessors, no one could have fully repaired all the damage that he found in

just four years. >> just in case you forgot, it is now the clinton/obama democratic party. >> america, if that is what you want. >> if th-- if that is what you believe, you must vote and re-elect president obama. god bless you and god bless america. ♪ [ cheers and applause ] ♪

>> to analyze all that, we brought in two of the best color kmem today to bes we know. in charlotte, hanging on by his finger names is willie geist. orioles fan and now front runner nationals fan, luke russert. >> nationals all the way. >> abandon my orioles, luke. what's up with that? willie, let me start with you. set the scene for us down there in charlotte. demes are trying to wrap up with their closer, obama. what's going on? >> krystal, before i get to that, you did mention i'm a yankees fan. did you hear the news? just 24 hours ago, these little yankees were mired in a tie for first place. they now stand alone in first place. what a story it is for this young bunch of new york yankees. >> real comeback story. >> it is. it's the little engine that could. >> underdog story. go ahead there, willie. >> seven hours and change from now, president obama will stand on that stage and deliver the message, making the final case to the country that he ought to

get another term as president. he's got quite a warm-up act. i got to tell you. you mentioned mary j. blige is going to play. we're going to see eva longoria and scarlett johansson. in terms of the political speeches, it gets interesting as well. charlie crist being called the turncoat by republicans for now showing up here and speaking on behalf of the president of the united states. we'll hear from john kerry around 9:00. a lot of people saying he could be the next secretary of state of the united states. then, of course, vice president joe biden. always interesting, krystal, introducing the president. >> certainly. and luke, speaking of joe biden, he is no bill clinton, but they do have a similar style in a way. they both sort of prefer ad libbing to the teleprompter. john heilman said, in a business full of blow dried atom tons, he, biden, is a vivid, authentic human being. i was wondering, what do you

think we can expect from joe biden tonight? >> interestingly enough, the fact joe biden is speaking in the 9:00 p.m. hour is fascinating. usually vice presidents get their own primetime address. the obama campaign saw fit to put him in the 9:00 p.m. what's his best strength for president obama? it's connecting to white, working class voters. you often hear the story from joe biden. just a kid from scranton, p.a., trying to make it in the tough, tough world. that's the message he'll resonate on the president's policies toward the folks not born with a silver spoon in their mouth. it will be interesting to see how he does that tonight, how fiery the rhetoric can be. it has been fiery in the past. most interestingly enough, with joe biden, the most important thing he can do for president obama is not have a gap tonight and also reiterate the message he's fighting for those who are not of means, who are not of extreme wealth. that's what his position here is for, president obama.

it's something he's quite good at and enjoys to do. >> steve, you had some thoughts on joe biden. what have you got there? >> i think there's a fascinating subtext to his speech tonight because there's sort of a tradition, a more moderate tradition with re-election conventions. part of it is their vice president gets a chance to make the point, hey, i'm in line for the next election. there's going to be an open nomination. we didn't see that with dick cheney on the republican side because he didn't want to run. you think about bill clinton and al gore. al gore was able to turn around and win the democratic nomination in 2000. what's interesting here is joe biden is making it very clear now that he's interested in being in the mix for 2016. the placement of this speech tonight, i think, is very telling about the challenges he faces there. the modern traditionist for the president to go one night and the presidential candidate to go the other night.

last night it was supposed to be joe biden's night. instead, it was president clinton's night. one of the effects of bill clinton's speech, you saw how there's this clinton renaissance going on. it's really setting up hillary clinton as a front runner like we've never seen before. so i'm really interested to see how he plays this speech tonight. this is a guy who obviously wants obama to get re-elected but also wants to be in the mix for 2016. >> and i think joe biden will clearly make the sort of every-man pitch that you're all talking about. willie, let's go back to bill clinton. i think that's what he did very effectively last night too. sort of explain obama's policies in language that, you know, the every man can understand. in fact, i came upon a great headline this morning saying "pass health care? call obama. explain it? call clinton."

what do you think of how he delivered that message last night? >> it is interesting that the role of the vice president is always on the night of to do a step-by-step takedown of the nominee from the other party. as you said, bill clinton did that over the course of 48 minutes last night. sort of stole the role of joe biden. it will be interesting to see what he does. there has been a thread throughout this, though. michelle obama came out the first night and talked about why she and her husband have lived the american dream. we are you. we don't just feel you. we are you. bill clinton talked about why the other side cannot provide the american dream. now i think president obama will come out tonight and explain why he's the better man to get people to that dream. >> luke, i thought it was interesting last night. the number one word i heard, after the word "i," was bill clinton constantly saying "cooperation." it's a powerful argument because he's talking about an america where we all work together. i think if you're financially struggling and scared, what do you want to hear that, you know, we're all going to build it ourselves because we built it ourselves so you can too? or we're going to work together.

we're going to be your partner. we're going to work together and cooperate to move america forward. but within the theme of cooperation, of course, is what happens in congress? we know that the obstruction plan started as the inauguration was going on. so if obama's re-elected, do the republicans in washington continue on the path of obstruction, or does that no longer matter? >> you know, rahm emanuel said that he believes that president obama's re-elected that. s will start cooperates and working with him. i talked to a few today. they're not so certain. the one thing that's true is right off the bat if the president is re-elected, there's a lot of serious issues on his plate. the bush tax cuts, the debt limit will come back up in 2013. they will be forced to work together no matter who wins the presidency. all that being said, though, the thing that i found very interesting since the republicans came into power in the house in 2010 has been the

lack of communication between speaker boehner, president obama, cantor, biden. they've had some conversations, but obama doesn't call boehner regularly. they don't socialize. they had that golf meeting. they tried to get the debt deal together. that sort of went away. i suspect if you have a president obama getting re-elected, you will see a lbj-style sort of trying to work the other side, work from congress. if there's anything he could have learned from the mistakes of his first term, that would be it. but this idea that republicans are going to hug democrats and sing, that's not going to happen. the real interesting thing, though, is this decision. if mitt romney loses, will republicans say it's because we weren't conservative enough or that we weren't center enough? i suspect they'll say they weren't conservative enough, go another cycle l in that direction. >> that sounds like a terrible future. all right. thank you very much. >> thanks, guys. up next, no debate clinton brought down the house.

so how did the other speakers do? we'll talk it over and tell you who steve kornacki was excited to meet last night. it's all ahead as "the cycle" rolls on for thursday, september 6th. bob...

oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always good to have a backup plan, in case i get hit by a meteor. wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs. can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign. looks good. [ male announcer ] fedex office. now save 50% on banners. the economy needs manufacturing. machines, tools, people making stuff. companies have to invest in making things. infrastructure, construction, production. we need it now more than ever. chevron's putting more than $8 billion dollars back in the u.s. economy this year.

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last night really was an important night for elizabeth warren. she was given the other speaking spot right before bill clinton. it gave her a badly needed chance for a boost in her massachusetts race against scott brown. >> the system is rigged.

look around. oil companies guzzle down billions in profits. billionaires pay lower tax rates than their secretaries. and wall street ceos, the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs, still strut around congress, no shame, demanding favors, and acting like we should thank them. does anyone here have a problem with that? well, i do too. i do too. >> so, guys, i thought it was a strong speech, but i have to say elizabeth warren has a problem here. she's fallen several points behind, i think about five or six points behind scott brown in this race. i think there's a frustration and a concern among democrats in massachusetts and nationally that the elizabeth warren that everyone was introduced to last year -- if you remember, there was that viral video where she had this impromptu explanation

of the social contract. it was charismatic. i think democrats looked at that last fall and said this really is the perfect messenger for what we're trying to say about the economy. i don't think that same elizabeth warren is who and what people in massachusetts have been seeing since then. i think it's part of the reason she's fallen behind. i look at that speech last night, and i guess i would have said serviceable was the word that came to mind. i think there was a real basic problem here. this was 10:00 last night. look what else is on television. there was the nfl opener. in boston and massachusetts, there was a red sox game. why is that significant? i think one of the reasons she's behind is because there's working class, middle class voters in massachusetts who scott brown has forged an emotional and cultural connection with. he's really used his force to do this. he's aired ads in which he talks about the red sox. he just talks about fenway park. he just talks about the celtics. it's voters in places -- i grew up here. i know a lot of these people. they traditionally vote democratic, but they really identify with scott brown. they're the ones that elizabeth

warren has to reach. she's not going to win the popularity contest. she needs to reach them with an economic contest. i think she gave a decent speech last night, but i don't know how many of those people were watching. >> steve, i have to agree. i also grew up around there. i feel like her pitch last night was incredibly professorial. outside of harvard square, to the working class voter in massachusetts, or frankly anywhere, i don't think it was a very effective message. it was not delivered effectively. i don't think she did herself any favors last night. >> i got to agree with you. as we all know, three of us are from massachusetts. i see scott brown represented in so many of the people i know from massachusetts and so many people i know at harvard. i like her. i think she's the sort of person we should have in d.c.

that said, i think scott brown is also the sort of person we should have in d.c. it saddened me a little bit she's not a great campaigner and the process doesn't reveal character, but it weeds out good people. i wish that were different. but that's the way it is. >> i am not from massachusetts, but i mean, i think ultimately the only speech that really mattered last night was bill clinton's speech. i actually found her -- you called her professorial. i can see where you're coming from. i think it's harder for a woman to pull off being the intellectual. i think people have a tendency to look at a person who presents herself in the way that elizabeth warren does, and rather than see her as smart or commanding or above the fray, all the ways we saw president obama when he was introduced to the country, there's a tendency instead to call her cold and distant. i was trying to think of a female senator who i could sort of see elizabeth warren sharing a similar model with, and i was

having trouble coming up with one. so i would just say i think there is a little bit of a gender issue there in the way that she's being perceived. >> krystal, by the way, there's a generational issue. massachusetts has an abysmal truck record when it comes to electing female candidates. i think elizabeth warren is probably running against that too. here's a great segue. if you sought my rant yesterday and watched the dnc, you'd know that former president bill clinton has come a long way from his first democratic convention back in 1988. when mike the dukaukas was the nominee. i had the fortunate to meet up with him last night right here on the convention floor in charlotte. here's what he told me about his own experience nearly a quarter century ago and what president obama can learn from it right now. >> you did have a very successful convention. you were 17 points ahead when you came out. republicans last week, we can see now, there was no bounce coming out of that convention.

what is the key for democrats this week to get a real bounce out of this convention? >> what's been happening here? i think it's been a well-put together convention. i think people are up. >> what would define a successful speech? >> he has to remind people of what created this mess. you know, i'm a depression baby. i remember fdr. he never let us forget herbert hoover and hoover economics for a long, long time. it's very important people understand who created this thing and what kind of a mess the president created. secondly, he's got to lay out his plans for the future. third, i think he's got to talk about romney's record in massachusetts when it came to job creation. the fourth worst in the country. that's an important message to get out there. i dent thion't think many ameri know that. >> by the way, the entire interview is going to be on our website later. thecycle .msnbc.com. i want to make this a non-political statement. he's a guy i've interviewed a

lot through the years. i know he got beat up bad when he ran for president. republicans made him a punch line. democrats say his campaign was a disaster. it has been 20 years since this man left politics. i can't think of many people who rose as high as he did, who you can say this about. he never cashed in. he never became a lobbyist. never became a rainmaker. never became a high-priced consultant. he went to northeastern university in boston, and he's been teaching there. he teaches small classes. he's talking about internships. he's a real humble guy, real genuine guy. i don't think he gets enough credit for that. i'll put it out there for what it's worth. >> steve, i'm really glad you got the former governor on the show. i worked for him, interned for him during his campaign. i still have a soft spot in my heart. the little guy who had a shot. it was a thrilling experience seeing a guy from massachusetts who we, you know, rooted for, knew has a governor, go up against the big guys and have a shot towin.

we'll see the debates are positive this time around. >> we just have like four straight minutes of nostalgia. that's the best segment in the mystery of the show. >> steve, i'm glad you're happy. >> i am. up next, bill clinton battled criticisms about the president's past. tonight it's the president's turn to lay out his plans for the future. the question, willie. there's much more ahead from the dnc in charlotte. want to try to crack it? yeah, that's the way to do it!

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they want to actually increase defense spending over a decade $2 trillion more than the pentagon has requested. without saying what they'll spend it on. and they want to make enormous cuts in the rest of the budget, especially programs that help the middle class and poor

children. as another president once said, there they go again. >> president clinton quoting gop favorite ronald raeagan there. not only it was a great speech, but president clinton made better, more compassionate, and more comprehensive arguments for democratic policies than any working politician to date. so what does president obama have to do tonight to keep from being overshadowed? we'll preview the dn c's version of the closer. nick, thanks for being with us. >> hey, krystal. great crowd back here. >> they love you, nick. they love you. i honestly don't know if it's possible to match president clinton, certainly not to beat him. he was incredible last night. i also don't think it's really necessary. he's a beloved, much-respected former president. so what does president obama

need to do in the speech tonight? >> i think it's important to look at what the last two big headline speakers have done. for michelle obama it was reintroducing her husband as a guy you like, even if you don't like the job he's doing. it was a total contrast to mitt romney. i'm michelle obama, i'm married to a guy i love. bill clinton, a sharp policy critiquer for republicans. one thing after another, facts and statistics. i think barack obama has to say, where will i lead you? we have heard so much in the last few weeks and months about things could be worse if someone else was in charge. if the republicans come back, it'll get even worse. really, at a convention like this, this is your big moment. you have to lead and lean forward and say, this is how i'm going to lead and where i'm going to take you. >> i agree with that, and i think the question is not just in terms of the policy vision for the next four years, but let's say the american people agree with exactly what he wants to do policy-wise.

how does he convince us he's going to be able to work with an obstructionist republican congress? >> i'm not sure he's going to try that. you know, we've seen certain nods to bipartisanship and some of his remarks, but i've also read a lot of great profiles in the last couple days talking about the lessons he's learned from his presidency and one lesson they have learned is you can't win by talking about compromise. you've got to really have power and use it effectively and be aggressive and push the other guys back against the wall. i'm not sure if we're going to hear that in the speech. that's certainly what they're thinking inside the white house, i believe. >> nick, a lot of people are saying obama's got to give us new ideas and advance the ball, but what i hear from michelle and from bill clinton and some others is that we're on the right track. a sort of steady way of sing we're on the right track. which do you expect from obama? we're on the right track or here's some new things we want to try? >> i would think given that we know some of the particulars already, whether it's climate change or finally fixing immigration, that he will lay out more of a positive vision.

it seems to me, and i'm not a cons consulta consultant, it's simply saying, no, it's fine, we're on the right track, is not what the rest of the country wants to hear. >> nick, obama said recently that his biggest regret has been not being able to communicate his messages effectively enough to the american people. politico has a story up today about how he regrets that. they have another story today about how obama's oratory skills aren't as great as everyone says. the media is probably going to give him a very generous grade, but can he get away with a he mediocre speech tonight and still maintain this idea, this narrative, this myth maybe that he's this fantastic communicator, great speech maker? >> no. i mean, you know, expectations are always going to be high when barack obama gets behind the

podium. i've also never seen a really bad barack obama speech. i've never seen a bomb. frankly, this is the convention. everybody at this convention is here because they want to elect barack obama. you're going to hear a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of cheer. there's not a ton of na sayers here now. you can hear it from the crowd now. >> it strikes me listening to this. i don't know if this is a comparison that's going to go over too well here, but i think the challenge that obama faces tonight politically in a lot of ways is similar to the challenge that george w. bush that when he was running for re-election in 2004. bush had to deliver what i would call an unfinished business speech. the issue was national security, foreign policy, not the economy. there was a similarity in that there were a lot of concerns, growing concerns among voters that things were badly off track in iraq and the war on terror in general. bush had to give a nod to those concerns while at the same time saying, look, i've made progress, i've kept things from being worse. and to say, if you stay the course with me, things will get

better. there's this line in his speech that jumps out at me. when he said in 2004 that historic goals are within our reach and greatness is in our future. you can look back and say that didn't pan out too well. it worked with the electorate in 2004. i think it's similar to what obama has to deliver tonight. >> nick, what do you make to that comparison? >> it's very accurate, i think, steve. i could be wrong. i was saying he should lay out a positive vision for the future. george b. bush gave us some gauzy sentiments. maybe that's the same kind of campaign, a parallel campaign and message that will work tonight for barack obama. >> another parallel there. you have in barack obama a guy who is really truly loved by his party versus mitt romney, a guy who's liked by his party, but there's more motivation to get the other guy out. another parallel to 2004. nick, thanks for being with us. >> any time.

up next, back to base six. some great speeches last night. i loved them. how about the rest of the country? the one and only howard fein man makes his debut on "the cycle" coming up.

there was something notable about bill clinton's speech last night, something different from some of the other rhetoric we've heard this week. it was brilliant, and it also came off as a clear attempt to right a ship that had turned far left. >> your new president could be a man who stands by when a public figure tries to silence a private citizen with hateful slurs. >> why are we having to fight in 2012 against politicians who want to end access to birth control? it's like we woke up on a bad episode of "madmen."

>> after all, mitt romney's the guy who said corporations are people. no, governor romney, corporations are not people. >> listen to every other speech that you've heard at this convention. it doesn't sound anything like bill clinton. bill clinton didn't attack bain, didn't attack business, didn't talk about abortion, didn't talk about gay marriage. he's talking about -- he's speaking like it's 1999. it's going to come down to ten states. some of them have a lot of people who are in the middle, who are authentically undecided. >> so what's the work at the dnc this week? a pitch to the middle or throwing a bone to the base? let's ask howard fineman. welcome, howard. >> hi, glad to be with you. >> good to have you. what are people going to remember from this dnc? is it going to be the so-called

abortion palooza, as one person called it, the business bashing, or do those 48 minutes of bill clinton very effectively messaging to the middle cancel out two days of far-left pitching? >> oh, no. i don't think so, really. i think conventions walk and chew gum at the same time. i think that the republicans did the same thing. >> yeah. >> for example, they had marco rubio up there who saw a version of the dream act, yet a lot of the other rhetoric was different. people speak to different folks are the different time slots. i think bill clinton was trying to show the way forward to getting back the undecided voters who supported barack obama as a game changer and as a bipartisan figure and who the president has lost. i thought it was a textbook address by bill clinton. kind of a summation of his whole career. i think most of the people on the floor, even the people who are passionate about elizabeth warren or passionate about other

progressive issues, understand that if they're going to get barack obama back in the white house, they kind of need bill clinton's road map to lead the way with those undecided voters. >> yeah, and it was a great speech. do people, do politicians like bill clinton, who -- i mean, not only thanked republicans like eisenhower and reagan and bush sr. for their contributions to welfare reform and education and civil rights. i mean, he also thanked w. of all people. do politicians like that still exist? i mean, he seems so an ak ro nisic. not just at this dnc, but this decade of political polarization. >> well, actually, having covered bill clinton almost as long as i've been in journalism, i know that that's sort of true, but it's also a rhetorical device on his part. he's praising the history of modern -- of moderate republicanism. examples were even george w. was somebody he could work with. in order to try to paint the

current leadership of the republican party as a bunch of radical extremists. but rather than name call, rather than say they're radical extremists, it's more the kind of in sorrow than in anger approach that bill clinton is a master of because by praising those moderate figures, he can kind of run the others off into the rails. that's what he was trying to do in that speech last night, and it was masterfully done, especially to the ears of moderate undecided voters who hate the partisanship, who hate the division, and who would like to be told a story about cooperation. there's no cooperation with the right wing of the republican party, as the republican party proved. it is a right-wing party right now. but bill clinton told that story in a clever and i think shrewd way. >> howard, really nice to see you on the show. >> thank you. >> interesting quote in "the new york times" today. republicans came in like they were the east german judge at

the olympics. obama could hit the triple flip, and they would give him a two. when clinton talked about that republicans currently hate obama. he used that word hate. do you really think they hate obama, or is obstructionism a strategy? >> well, i think it's both. i think they -- if you were in tampa, as i was, and many of us were, a lot of the best applause lines at the tampa convention were not for mitt romney, and they were not really so much for paul ryan. they were for any time barack obama was mentioned. it was kind of one of those george orwell rallies where they put up the enemy figure and everybody is supposed to jeer. that gets the emotions of the base going in the republican party in a way that frankly mitt romney does not. now, that's a tactic. it there hatred there? i would say it's more fear than hatred.

a lot of republicans an conservatives have done a good job continuously going back to the 2008 campaign of trying to paint barack obama as something strange, as somebody who's not american, who doesn't understand america, and it's fear that they're playing on more than hatred for the most part. >> steve, there have been some questions about if the democrats have been focusing too much on lady stuff. you know, we had sandra fluke moved into prime time last night. we also had cecile richards. i think overall, the way that the issue of choice and trusting women has been framed as just that. as he mentioned, some have called it abortion palooza. i find that both offensive and completely inaccurate. i don't even know that cecile richards mentioned abortion a single time. i think it's been much more a message of empowering women, trusting women to make their own decisions, and to me, that's a message that plays very well

across the country. but i wanted to hear, steve, what you thought of it. >> well, a couple things. oh, steve. i'm sorry. >> i'll just say something quick. i think you're right, krystal, but i think there's clearly an effort there by the democrats to ratchet up support as what they see as key demographic groups here. women, particularly single women, particularly college educated women are a big part of that. the point howard made at the beginning, you can drive home with an example from not-so-distant past. that's the last democrat to run for re-election, bill clinton in 1996. they had to strike this same balance between playing to the middle, which is where clinton's reputation is, and mollifying their base. clinton had just signed the biggest welfare reform and gave over an entire night of their chicago convention to all of the liberals who were outraged over welfare reform. clinton got to run in welfare reform, but you had jesse jackson. you had ted kennedy. you had all these guys getting up and arguing the other side.

the other thing i want to say quickly, we have had a mini debate this week over why the democrats moved this convention, moved barack obama's acceptance speech with a lot of republicans saying they were afraid they couldn't fill up the stadium. if you want to know whether that's a legit explanation, take a look at howard fineman. this man literally got drenched walking here. five minutes ago. i don't think the democrats want any part of this tonight. >> there are two or three people working on my suit jacket with hair dryers back there. >> i was wondering where that was. howard, what do you think? is barack obama tonight going to be more of the base motivator or more of the bill clinton? >> well, i think he's -- the simple answer is that he's going to try to blend the two. i think it's a little bit of a false division between the obama governing philosophy and the clinton governing philosophy. barack obama has not been the left winger as president that a lot of other people have accused him of being, and many progressives know that to be true. >> certainly. >> there's a follow on in health

care that clinton tried. there's tax cuts that the president supported, this president supported. i think there's a unity there. i think obama will try to bridge the two tonight and will probably do a good job. >> howard fineman, very good to see you during the day on msnbc. we look forward to having you on again. straight ahead, i show you some bhiends the scenes fun at the rnc. now it's time to see how the dems are partying and what the slebs and musical acts say about their party. haen std. t inken c haen sen boe. doer ocai e'en. std.

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the dems know how to throw a party for anyone and everyone. you definitely see that in the music they roll out at the dnc. the music you love is a clear expression of who you are. tonight the dems will show they're all about soul with mary j. blige. they're all about inclusion with marc anthony. and they're all -- ♪ >> and they're all about classic hippieism with james taylor, who rehearsed this afternoon for his performance tonight. expect a little "carolina on my mind." love that song. what was the rnc about musically? country music have trace adkins. midwestern rock from kid rock. pop from three doors down. and classic rock from lynyrd

skynyrd gotti canceled by isaac. someone diverse. the other, not so much. joining us now from charlotte is ""the washington post's"" jonathan capehart. the dnc gave us classics. james taylor, mary j. blige, foo fighters. the rnc, kid rock, three doors down. there's a gigantic qualitative gap. >> sorry, i could hardly hear what you were saying. even though it's raining, they're a little loud. i shouldn't have done that. i'm really sorry. >> it's okay. >> having been in tampa and being here in charlotte, you saw my tweets. you were responding. the band, the in-house band was playing stevie wonder and michael jackson and all of these songs by musicians who you wouldn't associate the republican party liking let

alone knowing and playing in their arena. and i thought yesterday god's appointed choir really were fantastic. >> they were awesome. >> they were just fantastic. >> i just got to say, it's a really silly argue, but i'll play along here. i will say to play along here. i would say to both of you guys, or everyone else, you win. i don't feel the need -- i won't speak for all republicans because maybe they do. i don't feel the need to compete with you on celebrities and musical awesomeness. my favorite celebrities at the rnc were the olympians like kim rhode and derek parra. i got completely star struck when i saw kim rhode on stage. i'm happy to concede the coolest celebrity race to you. >> we'll definitely win again tonight. we have eva longoria, kerry washington, and scarlet johansson hitting the stage, staying on script, which i'm

very proud of it. steve, you have the singers you're proud of. tell me about the singing senators. >> i think s.e. is selling her party short because you cannot talk about musical acts without mentioning the singing senators from the 2000 republican convention, trent lott, jim jefferson, and larry craig. their stories had all the trappings of a classic vh-1 behind the music story. there was the improbable rise at a birthday party celebration behind then new hampshire senator joe smith, the two conventions, and then the turbulent down fall. trent lott made an insensitive racial remark, joe jeffords left the republican party, craig had his issues, and then the other one lost to a dead guy. >> we love you. >> i can't wait for "behind the music." john, thanks so much for being

here. up next, krystal ball, what a girl wants to hear from the president tonight. hopefully not this song. thor's couture gets the most rewards of any small business credit card. your boa! [ garth ] thor's small business earns double miles on every purchase, every day! ahh, the new fabrics, put it on my spark card. [ garth ] why settle for less? the spiked heels are working. wait! [ garth ] great businesses deserve the most rewards! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? [ cheers and applause ]

one of the main reasons we ought to reelect president obama is that he is still committed to constructive cooperation. look at his record. look at his record. look at his record. he appointed republican secretaries of defense, the army and transportation. president obama appointed

several members of his cabinet, even though they supported hillary in the primary. heck, he even appointed hillary. >> that was bill clinton making the case for barack obama, compromiser in chief. clinton is masterful, of course, but i don't actually think it's that hard to make the case that the president tried, really tried to work with republicans. he emphasized tax cuts in the recovery act, returned to the table time after time with john boehner, even though boehner had nothing to offer. his signature health care law was lifted directly from a republican rival. in compromise, they say, though, it takes two to tango. president obama showed up in his dancing shoes, but his date threw a punch in his face. i think the american people get that, and i think it's one of the things people like about this president. he doesn't hate the other side, and he keeps earnestly coming back and back and back, much to the frustration at times of partisans like me. but what's not so clear is how

things will be different. how we will return to an actual functioning government in a second obama administration. i think a lot of people are going, look, you tried your best. yeah, the other guys, they're a bunch of jerks, but we can't deal with four more years of ugly partisan gridlock even if it's not really your fault. forget about are you better off? the real question for the president is can you get something done? here's what the president said recently to "time" magazine. given how stark the choices are, i do think that, should i be fortunate enough to have another four years, the american people will have made a decision and hopefully that will impact how republicans think about these problems." doesn't sound all that convincing really. here's the truth. the answer for our broken government will not come from that stage tonight or any other stage for that matter. it can only come from us. the president didn't fail us in his first term, no. we failed the president by casting our ballots and going home, by forgetting that the

phrase of the campaign wasn't i got this, it was yes, we can. for president obama's vision of post-partisanship to become a reality, for his inspiring words that we're not red states or blue states, but the united states of america to be really true, we must be the country that deserves that vision. republicans are always going to have an incentive to obstruct. it proves their thesis that government doesn't work. in 2009, boehner and the republicans countered yes, we can, with hell no you can't, and to their credit, their people took to the streets, got out there, and made it happen. if we want the next four years to be different, we have to do more this time than just knock doors and show up on election day. we have to make sure that on january 20th and every day thereafter for the next four years to donate our time, treasure, and sacred tweets to fight for a working government and to never stop fighting. all right. that does it for us here the a"the cycle."

steve, we're going to see you back here tomorrow. looking forward to have you back. martin, it's all yours. >> krystal, i couldn't agree more with you. thank you so much. good afternoon. it's thursday, september the 6th, and day three of the dnc kicks off. oh, what a trip it's been. ♪ >> congressman ryan looked into that tv camera and attacked president obama's medicare savings as, quote, the biggest, coldest power play. >> $716 billion funneled out of medicare by president obama. >> that $716 billion is exactly to the dollar the same amount of medicare savings that he had in his ownbudget. it takes some brass forto attac guy for doing what you did. >> the numbers just don't add up. >> i don't know exactly how it